Evergreen Lake Kind Of Day

I FINALLY get a break from writing to ... write? Um, ok. Whatever. I'll just include lots of pictures to make my life easier, ok? [And totally not because I purposely took an obnoxious number of pictures to use for this post. lol]

(Please excuse if the pictures are a little blurry. I only had my Blackberry with me and the camera on it isn't all that great. I could have spent HOURS taking awesome pictures if I would have remembered my good camera.)

I was a little disappointed when I looked at my training schedule yesterday morning. Only 2 miles. I contemplated just running straight out and back on Whitehouse-Spencer Road or some random loop in town. And then I looked down and saw my trail shoes sitting next to my dresser. Is it weird that I HATE seeing them clean? :)

Since I was home, I just went over to one of my favorite trails in my favorite Metropark. Evergreen Lake. I remembered that the trail around the lake was somewhere around a mile (ok, I knew full well that each loop was 1.25+ miles, but I was being willfully ignorant once I decided that's where I wanted to run) so I planned on just making 2 loops.

Now, this IS Northwest Ohio, so we don't have huge hills (unless you want to count the Oak Openings ridge [if you really want to know what that is, just ask. I could keep you busy for years just with the work my department does on the OO ridge]), but I think this short trail has one of the best varieties of conditions you'll find in this part of NW Ohio.

You get everything from pavement (the official start to the multi-purpose trail for the park)...

... to the deciduous forest (mostly oak. This is an area well known for it's globally-rare black oak savannah.) ...

... MUCKY MUD ...

... No, I mean REALLY mucky. Check out one of my many "slides" (which I may or may not have been laughing and yelling "weee" as it was happening) ...

... the southwest end of the lake has my favorite part of the trail, the coniferous forest. I have friends who think it's creepy, but I love it ...

... you just have to watch REAL close through the conifers so you don't lose the trail since it isn't always clear. The Evergreen Lake trail, the horse trail, and the scout trail (longer-distance hiking trail) all weave back and forth through this side of the lake ...

... my favorite place in ALL THE PARK is JUST as the trail bends west to accommodate the irregular shape of the lake, just as you begin to enter the conifers ...

 ... and with a great view of the south end of the lake (you just don't want to be sitting there when the mosquitos are out if you value your hide) ...

... you may even see a beaver! It's rare, but they're here. Kind of hard to ignore the signs ...

... just watch your step so you don't trip over one of these (about 1/4 mile south on the trail from the bathrooms, if there are any Metroparks people reading this) ...

 ... or some of these ...

... and you'll have a happy run and look like this ...

Ok, maybe you won't look EXACTLY like that, but something similar. And, no, you can't have my sunglasses or my new Saucony jacket. LOVE those things! Plus, it was kind of fun seeing how many people asked me if there was hunting allowed in the park (which it isn't) and if that was why I was wearing a bright orange jacket. :)

Oh, and your shoes might end up looking like this ...

No joke, this was AFTER I scraped my feet off in the grass in the picnic area by the parking lot. You can't see the back of my legs either. It was comical with all the mud splatter. It MAY have been a mistake to wear brand new white socks. Oops. At least my trail shoes were gray to start with. :)

Evergreen Lake also has a really nice picnic area (with heated bathrooms) along the lake ...

So, if it wasn't obvious already, I REALLY enjoyed my run yesterday. I ran the loop twice (2.67 miles @ 11:33/mi average) and then walked it again to get all these pictures. Yes, I was writing this post in my head as I was running and thinking about where I wanted pictures. I purposely left my iPod at home so I could focus on enjoying and being in-the-moment. I always enjoy my runs here, no matter what the conditions, and I just wanted to be able to share. The weather was a gorgeous 35* and sunny and I'm SO glad I didn't waste the day. I was almost annoyed when it was time to go home and get back to work on the computer.

I do count myself to be extremely blessed to live where I do, in the shadow of the Oak Openings Ridge, with its diverse ecosystems and species. I'm also blessed to be healthy and active enough to be able to appreciate the opportunities available to me. Every time I step outside, I'm reminded why I'm in the environmental field any why I feel so strongly about environmental education for ALL.

Today, I'm stuck in my basement lab, listening to the construction going on all around me (I seriously need to buy a pair of noise-canceling headphones, the earbuds just aren't cutting it around here). I was down here before the sun came up and I won't be out until well after the sun goes down. Maybe THAT's why I procrastinated writing this post. I knew I'd need a pick-me-up and a reminder of what OUTSIDE looked like. It's ok. It's supposed to be rainy and crummy the rest of the week. That's ok too. 

You can either whine about your shoes getting a little wet, or you can go jump in the biggest puddle you can find and laugh about it. :)